Self-righting advertising display



Sept. 19, 1967 1. R. PARDUE I 3341,958

SELF'RIGHTNG ADVERTISING DSPLAY Filed ocz. 22, 1984 2 sheets-sheet A1 I I I I I I I INVENTOR;

J. R. PRDUE HIS ATTORNEY Sep. 19, 1967 J. R. PARDUE 3,341,958 SELF-RIGHTING ADVERTISING DISPLAY Filed Oct. 22, 1984 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I NVENTOR:

J. R. PRDUE H IS TTORNEY F I G. 2

3,341,958 SELF-RIGHTING ADVERTISIN G DISPLAY John Russell Pardue, Westport, Conn., assignor to Shell Oil Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Dela- Ware Filed Oct. 22, 1964, Ser. No. 405,786 2 Claims. (Cl. 40-138) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention pertains to advertising devices and, more particularly, to a self-righting sign having provisions for mounting advertising displays thereon.

At the present time, advertising signs, particularly those used in outdoor locations, as for example, filling stations, stores and the like, normally consist of two panels supported by an A frame structure, withI the advertising display or sign being fastened to the panels. A similar sign known as an I frame sign is used and consists of a single, Vertical panel with an appropriate base to maintain it upright. Both the A f'rame and the I frame type of displays have the disadvantage in that once they are knocked down they do not right themselves. In addition, these frames are normally made of metal and thus will damage automobiles or other Vehicles that strike them.

The subject invention avoids the above dificultes in advertising displays by providing a self-righting advertising sign that is formed primarily of molded plastic. The sign is provided with two fiat surfaces or panels on which advertising signs or media may be displayed. For example, large printed signs may be afiixed to the fiat surfaces to convey the advertising message. The sign is formed from two substantially identical open top rectangular wedge-shaped members or halves. The end walls of each half have a generally triangular shape that converges toward one end and terminates in a cylindrical end at the base of the triangle. The circula'r end of the end wall is provided with a short, straight section adjacent the open side of the half. The two end walls are spaced apart with a continuous panel encircling the outer edge of the end walls to form the open top wedge-shaped member. The edges of the two halves are joined together along their open sides to form an enclosed, hollow sign. The assembled sign has a general tear drop or oil drop shape when viewed from the end, with a flat surface being provided on the bottom cylindrical portio-n of the sign. The front and back walls that converge towards the top of the sign are relatively fiat and are provided with means for retaining a printed advertising sign thereon. The sign is completed by enclosing a ballast member in the bottom of the sign. The ballast ensures that the sign will rest on the fiat surface and that when the sign is knocked over, it will right itself. The combination of the ballast member and the small dimensions of the fiat surface result in a slight rocking motion for the sign that improves its ability to attract attention.

In some cases it may be desirable to reduce or eliminate the fiat surface on the bottom of the sign to provide more rocking motion for the sign. While the motion of the sign is increased, it will still remain substantially upn'ght as a result of the ballast member.

The above advantages of this invention will be more easily understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the attached drawings in which:

nited tates atef wall of the half "ice FIGURE 1 is a front elevation view of the sign with a portion of the advertising mounting frame being removed;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation view of the sign shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged horizontal taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal section of a second means for fastening the two halves of the sign together; and

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal section of a third means for fastening the two halves of 'the sign together.

Referring now to the attached drawings, the sign is formed of two substantially identical open top rectangular wedge-shaped members 10 and 11 that are joined along the center line 12 to form the sign. The members 10 and 11, while being referred to as wedge-shaped, have a cylindrical end or bottom in addition to a rectangular open top. Since the two halves 10 and 11 are substantially identical, only the detailed construction of the half 10 will be described.

The wedge-shaped half 10 is formed from two end walls 13 which are spaced apart and joined by a continuous wall or panel 14. The end walls 13 have a generally triangular upper shape which converges towards the top of the sign and terminates in a short horizontal surface 15. The bottom portion of each of the end Walls terminates in a circular or rounded section 16 that has a short, flat or horizontal section 17 adjacent the open side of the wedge-shaped member 10. The continuous wall or panel 14 completely encloses the spaced end walls to form the open sided rectangular wedge-shaped member or half. The halves 10 and 11 are joined together along the center line 12 to form an enclosed hollow sign having substantially fiat surfaces that converge towards the top and section of the sign terminate in a cylindrical bottom. When viewed from the end as shown in FIGURE 2, the sign has a general tear drop or oil drop shape with a fiat section 17 adiacent the center at the bottom of the sign. The flat surface provides a base for the sign to rest on and retains the sign in substantially Vertical position.

Referring now specifically to FIGURE 3, there is shown the detailed Vconstruction of the wedge-shaped halves 10 and 11. The end Wall 13 of the half 10 terminates in an inwardly projecting flange 20 at the open side. The end 11 terminates in a similarly inwardly projecting flange 21. The flange 21, in addition, has a short fiange 22 that projects in a direction substantially parallel to -the end walls of the half 11. The combination of the flanges 20, 21 and 22 provide a simple means by which the two halves of the sign can be accurately aligned during assembly of the signs. The two halves of the sign are normally formed of a thermoplastic material which may be easily molded to the shape shown in the drawings. Suitable plastic materials would be polystyrene, polyethylene, or similar materials. When thermoplastic materials of this type are used, the two flanges 20 and 21 may be easily united by means of a suitable cement or glue.

The fiat, inclined surface 13 of the half 10 is provided with a recessed, rectangular-shaped channel 23. The channel 23, as shown in FIGURE l1, has a substantially rectangular shape and is spaced inwardly from the sides of the sign as well as spaced from the top and bottom. It should be noted that the surface of the portion 25 of the flat surface 13 that is outside the recessed channel is slightly higher than the surface of the portion 26 of 'the wall which is located within the rectangular-shaped channel. This permits the fastening of advertising signs to the surface inside the channel 23 without the fastening means projecting beyond the surface of the sign.

A rectangular frame 31 is positioned within the channel 23 and used to fasten the advertising sign to the surface 26. The rectangular frame 31 is preferably formed of a light, corrosion-resisting metal, for example, aluminurn, and is formed as a unitary member to facilitate its removal and replacement. The rectangular frame 31 is fastened to the channel 23 by a plurality of small machine screws 30 which thread into anchor nuts 32. The anchor nuts 32 are preferably metal nuts that are retained within plastic blocks With the blocks being cemented to the inner surface of the channel 23. It should be noted that the frame member 31 is provided with an inwardly extending lip or flange 33 that serves to clamp the printed advertising material to the surface 26. In addition, leg members 34 and 35 are provided on the frame for spacing the frame from the bottom of the channel-shaped recess 23.

The assembled sign is maintained in an upright or Vertical position by means of a ballast container 4G disposed in the bottom of the sign. The ballast container 40, as shown in FIGURE 1, has a general cylindrical shape and extends across the full width of the sign. Preferably, the ballast container 40 is fabricated separately from the two halves and 11 and installed in the bottom section of the sign when the two halves are assembled. The b'allast container 40 is provided with an opening 41 for` filling with weighted material. Any weighted material, for example, sand, rnay be used for ballasting the sign. Supports 42 are provided for retaining the ballast container in the desired position and prevent its rolling within the sign.

To summarize the above description, the sign is formed of two substantially identical wedge-shaped halves that are cemented together along their common edges. The two halves when assembled provide a sign having substantially flat surfaces that converge towards the top on which the printed advertising matter is rnounted. In addition, the sign is provided with a cylindrical-shaped bottom that has a flat surface formed at its center with a ballast container 'being provided to maintain the sign in an upright position. In addition to rnaintaining the sign in an upright position, the ballast container serves to right the sign in case the sign is accidentally knocked over or blown over by the wind. While the sign is maintained in an upright position, it will have as a result of the small dimensions of the flat 17 a rocking motion that improves its ability to attract attention. The rocking motion may be increased by reducing the size of the flat surface.

Alternate methods for fastening the edges of the two halves are shown in FIGURES 4 and 5. In FIGURE 4 each half 10' and 11' is provided with an outwardly projecting fiange 50 that are joined together. The flanges 50 extend completely around the periphery of each half and may be removed from the bottom of the sign after the halves are assembled. In FIGUR .5 one half 10" is provided with a straight edge 51 and half 11" is provided with a joggled edge 52. The straight and joggled edges overlap to fon-m a joint between the two halves.

While the halves 10 and 11 of the sign are preferably formed of molded plastic, they can also be formed of thin sheet metal. The use of metal may be objectionable since the sign can be easily damaged when struck. Also, a metal sign will tend to damage cars that strike the sign.

I claim as my invention:

1. A self-righting display sign comprising:

spaced flat end panels, said end panels having a round bottom joined to edges that converge to an apex;

a continuous panel fixedly attached to said spaced ends, said continuous panel forming with said end panels an enclosed structure having a cylindrical bottom joined to flat side panels that converge at the top;

a ballast container disposed within said enclosed structure adjacent the cylindrical end;

a pair of rectangular-shaped frames, said frames being attached to said flat side panels and adapted to contain a display sign thereon.

2. A self-righting display sign comprising:

a pair of substantially identically wedge-shaped members, each member having an open rectangular-shaped side, end walls having a generally triangular shape with one rounded side and a continuous panel enclosing said end walls terminating in a flat surface adjacent to the open side of said wedge-shaped members;

the open rectangular-shaped sides of said two members being fixedly joined to form a hollow enclosed member having a rounded end and flat side walls that converge toward an apex, said rounded end having a flat surface at the center of said rounded end;

a ballast member being disposed inside the hollow member adjacent sad flat surface;

a pair of rectangular frame members, said frames being attached to said flat side walls and adapted to contain a display sign.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 626,256 6/1899 Webb 40-138 664,871 1/1901 Keyser 40-138 1,452,396 4/ 1923 Sterner et al. 40-145 3,066,790 12/1962 Armbruster 206-1 FOREIGN PATENTS 19,481 7/ 1929 Australia.

LAWRENC CHARLES, Primary Examiner. 

1. A SELF-RIGHTING DISPLAY SIGN COMPRISING: SPACED FLAT END PANELS, SAID END PANELS HAVING A ROUND BOTTOM JOINED TO EDGES THAT CONVERGE TO AN APEX; A CONTINUOUS PANEL FIXEDLY ATTACHED TO SAID SPACED ENDS, SAID CONTINUOUS PANEL FORMING WITH SAID END PANELS AND ENCLOSED STRUCTURE HAVING A CYLINDRICAL BOTTOM JOINED TO FLAT SIDE PANELS THAT CONVERGE AT THE TOP; A BALLAST CONTAINER DISPOSED WITHIN SAID ENCLOSED STRUCTURE ADJACENT THE CYLINDRICAL END; A PAIR OF RECTANGULAR-SHAPED FRAMES, SAID FRAMES BEING ATTACHED TO SAID FLAT SIDE PANELS AND ADAPTED TO CONTAIN A DISPLAY SIGN THEREON. 